


Work Perks

by writergrump



Category: Game Grumps
Genre: College AU, Egobang - Freeform, Fluff, Humor, M/M, bartender!Barry, bartender!Dan, it's cute and fun and hey i like this, minor Rubberdoop
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2017-12-09
Updated: 2017-12-09
Packaged: 2019-02-12 08:32:47
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 3,574
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/12955374
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/writergrump/pseuds/writergrump
Summary: Working at a bar definitely had its perks. One of these just so happens to be seeing the same cute guy every so often. Too bad Dan can’t seem to get his number.





	Work Perks

Working at a bar had its perks. **  
**

Dan wasn’t the biggest fan of the drunk flirting, overly suggestive glances at his crotch, or the slurred insistence that he’d look even better naked, but it did have perks.

One such perk was the free alcohol, of course. Dan wasn’t that wild, but he did enjoy a good party, and one way to be at the center of said parties is to bring the good rum. Plus, sneaking out a bottle or two of vodka while his manager pretended not to notice was pretty sweet.

Dan glanced up in the middle of mixing a screwdriver as his coworker, Barry, walked in, dressed in his smooth white shirt, vest, and white apron, the dress code for bartenders. He offered Barry a grin as he finished pouring the drink and slid it to an already tipsy girl hovering at the counter, watching Dan with hopeful eyes. “Hey, Barry. Ready for the Saturday night rush?”

“Guess so,” Barry rolled his eyes, adjusting his apron as he nodded to a man behind the bar and started pulling out mugs for the beer. “College students’ll be back, too. They’re opening applications for the gallery nearby at that art school. Bunch of people will start showing up for that.”

Dan made a noise of agreement as he collected the tip from a group of hazy middle-aged women with wine. “You’re going back to the college near here, right?”

Barry elbowed him. “We’re _living_ together, dumbass.”

Dan laughed as the noise started to pick up. This bar was very popular, as it was clean and had good security and fun dancing areas. People ranged from several types of drunk and the atmosphere was relaxed. “Just messing with you. But yeah, I can see several college students here already. Better get ready for a busy one.”

After that, work picked up and Dan hardly had a moment to spare as he hurried up and down, distributing drinks, accepting drunk compliments, and collecting tips. Barry was equally as busy, and a few hours flew by without either of them realizing it.

Dan had a moment to breathe as a group of partygoers hollered at the DJ to play something-or-other. Leaning back, Dan sighed and sipped from a water cup. _It’s too damn hot in here._

He looked along the bar, spotting a few regulars, when he noticed a lone man around his age sitting at the end of the bar, facing away from the rest of the people. He had his back hunched over as he focused intently on whatever he was working on, glancing around every so often until he returned his attention to the task at hand.

The guy’s hair was pulled back in a ponytail, but wisps fell out from the sides, framing his soft face. A bit of facial hair was beginning to grow on his chin, and there were bags under his eyes to rival Dan’s.

Noticing the lack of drink beside the guy, Dan moved forward to do his job. “Hey, man, what’ll it be?”

The guy jumped visibly, moving his panicked eyes up to meet Dan’s. “Shit, man.”

Dan blinked. “Sorry, dude. Didn’t mean to scare you.”

“No, you’re good. Sorry, bars aren’t really my thing,” the guy laughed nervously, running his fingers through his already-disheveled hair. “What’d you say?”

Dan motioned to the alcohol bottles. “Drink. You want one? You look a little stressed there, buddy.”

“Do I?” the guy asked sarcastically, then eyed the alcohol with distaste. “No, thanks. Just a sparkling water, if you have any?”

Dan raised an eyebrow at the request, but obliged. “Alright. I gotta tell you though, no one’s ever come here, sat down, proceeded to tell me they don’t like bars, and glare at the alcohol before.”

The guy laughed, and Dan perked up at the sound. It was one of those genuine, warm laughs that came straight from your stomach and made you feel good. He liked that laugh.

Dan tilted his head towards the sketchbook partially hidden under the guy’s arm. “Working on something?”

The guy–Dan was gonna start calling him Cute Laugh Guy–reddened slightly and hastily shut the book. “No, I…”

The rest of Cute Laugh Guy’s sentence was drowned out in the following whooping coming from the dance floor, and a drunk guy stumbled over, slamming down his empty beer mug. “Can I get…another?”

Dan eyed him, noticing his red face. “I think you need to take it easy, buddy.”

The guy groaned, stumbling over a little closer, but just before he could say anything else, his friends showed up–only slightly less drunk–and dragged him off.

Rolling his eyes, Dan turned back to talk to Cute Laugh Guy, but he was gone. The only thing left was an empty glass and a neat ten-dollar bill.

~~~

Dan nearly forgot about the interaction in the days that followed, as work picked up and life kept him from dwelling on the odd stranger with the alcohol aversion.

However, the following Thursday, Dan was working the late shift with Barry again, and the bar was quieter than usual. He had more time to lounge, waiting until someone wandered up wanting a refill on beer or directions to the bathroom.

Dan wasn’t expecting the lift in his chest at the sight of familiar messy hair and a tired smile. He strode over, grinning at Cute Laugh Guy, who was sitting in the same spot at last time. “You decided to try some of our beer after all?” Dan joked.

Cute Laugh Guy shook his head, chuckling. “Nah. Just a sparkling water, please. Don’t mind me.”

As Dan poured his drink, he tried to sneak a peek at the worn-looking sketchbook in front of Cute Laugh Guy, but his arms were hiding it pretty well. He slid his water over, wondering why he’d never seen this guy before.

Cute Laugh Guy accepted the water without comment, taking a sip and scratching his head with his pencil. Dan hovered, wanting to ask about the sketchbook but wondering if it was appropriate. Were bartenders usually this curious about their patrons?

Then a loud group of tipsy girls walked in, sliding up to the bar giggling. A blonde stopped in front of Dan, swaying slightly. She already seemed drunk. _Probably a little too much pre-gaming,_ Dan guessed.

She smiled at Dan. “Whatcha got t’night, gorgeous?”

Cute Laugh Guy shifted away from her slightly, a look of revulsion passing over his face, and Dan had to squelch a giggle. “It’s a bar, what’re you feeling?”

She gazed up at the options, but her eyes settled back on Dan. “I think I’d like a _snack_ instead,” she replied suggestively, trying to wink but failing. Her friends tittered behind her, giggling. Dan sighed inwardly.

“Just let me know when you pick something,” he deadpanned, inching away under the premise of getting out some more glasses. Her expression faltered a bit, but then she drifted away as the music grew louder, and Dan breathed a sigh of relief.

His eyes went back to Cute Laugh Guy, only to make direct eye contact with him. Flushing, Cute Laugh Guy looked back down at his sketchbook, and Dan’s curiosity was piqued.

He was about to go talk to him again when Barry nudged him. “Who’s that? Know him?”

“No,” Dan said distractedly. “I mean–kinda. He’s Cute La–uh. I mean, I don’t know his name. I’ve only seen him once before.”

“Well, you’ve been kinda staring at him since he walked in here. Maybe you should just, I don’t know, give him your number?”

Dan flushed, shoving Barry. “It’s not like that! He’s just interesting. Besides, I don’t know the guy at all. Maybe he’s a murderer.”

“Pretty cute murderer, then.”

“Well, yeah, but–”

Barry cackled, and Dan, realizing he’d been tricked, cursed under his breath and swatted away Barry’s playful jabs as he turned back around in determination.

Cute Laugh Guy had disappeared, once again leaving his signature empty glass and ten-dollar bill.

Dan groaned.

~~~

Dan would be lying if he said he didn’t watch out for Cute Laugh Guy after that. Okay, so maybe he was cute. No big deal. Dan was just curious. He seemed like an interesting guy, and he wanted to talk to him again.

The following Monday, he was cleaning up the mixers when suddenly Barry jabbed him in the ribs. “Look. It’s your mysterious stranger.”

Dan nearly dropped the mixer in excitement as he whirled around and spotted Cute Laugh Guy taking a seat in his usual spot. It was earlier than normal, and the bar wasn’t busy at all. Barry took the mixer from Dan’s hands.

“Stop staring at the guy and go ask for his damn name, Romeo.”

Dan tossed Barry the finger as he hurried over to pour a sparkling water. Approaching Cute Laugh Guy, he beamed as he passed the water over the bar to him. “Hey, stranger.”

Cute Laugh Guy smiled at him, accepting the drink. “You didn’t try to sell me alcohol this time, I see.”

“Nah. Figured it was a lost cause.” Dan waited until he’d taken a sip before continuing. “Listen, if you keep coming around this often I’m gonna have to ask you your name.”

Cute Laugh Guy thought about that. “Alright, as long as you stop trying to sneak glances into my sketchbook.”

Dan felt his face heat up, but he refused to admit defeat. “C’mon, anyone would be curious.”

He laughed, and Dan felt that warm feeling again. “Okay, I’ll give that to you. Now, you promise?”

Dan held up his right hand solemnly. “Cross my heart.”

“Arin.”

“Huh?”

“Arin.” Cute Laugh Guy smirked as he took another sip of water. “My name’s Arin. Nice to meet you, bartender man.”

 _Arin._ Dan let that sink in. _It suits him._

Arin seemed to be waiting, and suddenly it clicked. Dan straightened quickly. “Oh! My name’s Dan. Nice to meet you too, valued customer.”

Arin chuckled at that, and they shook hands.

Barry then appeared, elbowing Dan’s side. “Not to interrupt, but I’m going on break, so you’ll have to watch the bar, Dan.”

“No problem.”

Dan remained at the counter, polishing glasses and chatting with Arin, who hid his sketchbook as he worked, and learned a bit about him. He liked video games and was new to the area. Mostly they just cracked jokes and made fun of the drunk people stumbling in and out.

Dan turned his back for what he swore was just a minute, but when he looked back he was met with the all-too-familiar ten-dollar bill.

He looked up in time to see familiar messy hair disappearing out the door, and he tried to swallow down the feeling of disappointment. _I’ll catch him next time,_ he resolved, picking up the ten and smiling to himself.

~~~

He was in the back a few days later on a Friday when Barry suddenly barreled into the back at full speed.

Dan could already tell by the twinkle in his eyes what was up. “Is he here?”

“Sure is.” Barry grinned, but then hesitated. “But…”

Dan squinted at him. “But _what?”_

“He’s got someone with him.”

Dan ignored the squirming, sick feeling sliding around in his stomach as he digested that information. “Who?”

“Dunno. Some guy. Skinny. Blonde hair. Kinda cute.”

Dan did his best not to roll his eyes. “Sure, whatever. Maybe he’s a friend of Arin’s.”

Barry raised an eyebrow at him. “Dan, you can’t have that look on your face when you bring them their drinks.”

“What look?”

“You look like you’re about to kill someone,” Barry clarified, heaving a dramatic sigh as he handed Dan a glass. “Now get them their drinks and don’t make it obvious you’re really jealous, okay?”

Dan sputtered. “I–he–I’m not–”

Barry pushed him out, and Dan hesitated for a moment, eyes immediately zipping over to Arin’s usual seat. He was there, with his ever-mysterious sketchbook tucked under his arm, and an unfamiliar guy with the bluest eyes Dan had ever seen perched beside him, talking animatedly. Arin was listening with interest.

Dan set the glass of sparkling water down with a little more force than necessary, causing the pair to jump slightly and turn to look at him. Arin smiled and Dan smiled back, ignoring the questioning look from the blonde guy.

“I get to see you twice in one week, what a treat,” Dan joked as Arin accepted the water.

“Glad you haven’t forgotten about me,” Arin joked back, then turned to his friend. “Ross, what do you want?”

The blonde–Ross–scanned the shelves and ordered a pretty common beer. Dan took his time pouring it. He knew he was being petty, but he honestly didn’t give a shit. He was planning on talking to the cute customer tonight, dammit.

As he set Ross’s beer in front of him, Arin perked up. “Dan, this is Ross. Ross, this is Dan, your local friendly bartender.”

“Heard you tried to sell Arin alcohol,” Ross said with a laugh. Dan detected an Australian accent. “Rookie mistake.”

Dan smiled politely. “It is my actual _job,_ after all.”

Ross guffawed at that, throwing an arm around Arin’s shoulders as he chugged from his mug. “I’ll drink to that!”

“You’ll drink to _anything,”_ Arin complained, but the affection in his voice was apparent. That snake slithered around Dan’s stomach again.

He was about to excuse himself when Ross looked at him again. “You become good buds with Arin yet? I think he has a shot, don’t you? I mean, just look at his art–”

“Ross!” Arin yelped, elbowing him. “Shut up. Stop harassing the bartender.”

Dan’s eyes flicked from face to face, but his curiosity won. “Has a shot at what?”

Arin’s face turned dangerously red, and Ross seemed to realize something, a smirk settling over his features. “You don’t know?” He glanced down at the sketchbook, which Arin was now clutching to his chest. “He hasn’t shown you his drawings?”

Dan narrowed his eyes slightly at the challenging tone in Ross’s voice. “No…”

Ross threw his head back and laughed loudly, turning to ruffle Arin’s hair. “Brilliant! That’s the best thing I’ve heard in a long time!”

“Goddammit, Ross, please _shut up,”_ Arin groaned.

Dan was doing his best to not be jealous, but dammit, he was failing. “So what are the drawings, then?”

“Nothing!” Arin shrieked, and Ross just laughed harder. Finally giving into the knot in his stomach, Dan excused himself and fled to the back room.

Barry joined him not long after, looking amused. “Didn’t go well?”

Dan groaned. “How come _he_ gets to see the sketchbook and not me?”

“Oh, I don’t know, maybe because he’s been Arin’s friend forever and he’s only spoken to you a few times?” Barry asked sarcastically. At Dan’s look of surprise, Barry explained. “I talked to them after you left. They’re best friends, so wipe that mopey look off your face. I also got a number out of it.” Barry waved a piece of paper in front of Dan. “Turns out, asking works wonders.”

“You got Ross’s number?” Dan asked incredulously.

“Some of us ask before they run off, Daniel.”

“Shit!” Dan bolted to the front, but his heart sank as he looked over and saw two empty glasses greeting him. This time, there was a twenty instead of a ten.

Dan set his head down on the counter and groaned.

~~~

Arin hadn’t come by in nearly two weeks, and Dan was beginning to lose hope. School started up again soon, and that meant he’d go back to working part-time. He hadn’t seen Ross either, and Barry refused to divulge information on how that situation was going.

“You’re moping again,” Barry noted one Wednesday night as Dan set the glasses up with a particularly loud grunt. “I don’t think you’ve smiled for a week. Are you broken?”

Dan narrowed his eyes at his best friend. “Why can’t you just ask Ross for Arin’s number?”

Barry stared at him, stone-faced. “Where’s the fun in that?”

Dan was about to show him a rude finger when Barry’s face looked behind him and lit up so quickly Dan felt his heart do a flip.

“Your favorite customer’s here,” Barry whispered gleefully, and Dan stuck out his tongue before hurrying off to the counter.

His luck must’ve been holding out tonight, because Arin was alone. Dan cheerfully handed him his sparkling water. “On the house tonight.”

Arin tilted his head in confusion, but accepted it. “Thanks. What’s the occasion?”

“Um.” Dan hadn’t thought about that. “Just because?”

Arin seemed more reserved that night, as Dan kept coming by when he wasn’t busy to strike up conversation, but Arin kept twisting his hands together and replying with his eyes down. Dan felt nerves creep into his chest. Was something wrong? Was Arin upset? Was everything okay?

Finally, he sidled up across from Arin and leaned across the bar. “Hey. Is everything okay? You look a little…preoccupied.”

Dan could’ve sworn Arin blushed as he ducked his head. “Nothing’s wrong. I’m fine, actually. I just…uh. I came by to thank you.”

“Thank me?” Dan repeated, confused. “For what?”

With trembling hands, Arin held out his sketchbook. Dan accepted it reverently, staring down at it in awe. “For me? I can see it?”

Arin nodded, swallowing, and Dan flipped it open. His breath caught.

It was portraits of him.

Beautiful colored portraits surrounded by smaller, quick sketches. As he flipped through, he noticed the dates written in the bottom margin, and recognized the nights Arin had drawn them. Him looking friendly the first night they met. His look of disinterest at the drunk girl the second time. Him holding up his right hand in promise the night he learned Arin’s name. Him looking somewhat sad the night he met Ross.

There were many more, both detailed and quick sketches, but the last one was the one that brought a tear to Dan’s eye.

He was standing behind the bar, preparing a drink, and grinning at the person viewing the picture. His hair was tousled, his eyes were sparkling, and his mouth was quirked to the side as he reacted to whatever the viewer had said. Was this how Arin saw him?

“Arin, I don’t…I don’t even know what to say,” Dan breathed, awed. “These are so…”

“I’m sorry,” Arin blurted, wringing his hands together. “I should’ve told you I was drawing you, but I saw you that first night, right after I’d gotten here, and I just…couldn’t help myself. You were a perfect model.”

“They’re beautiful,” Dan said, handling the book as though it were solid gold. “You’re amazing.”

Pink tinged Arin’s cheeks, but he bit his lip. “Well, I needed to thank you, because thanks to you I was accepted into the art school.”

It took a moment for Dan to process this. “Wait. You mean…”

“I submitted a larger version of the full-body drawing of you,” Arin admitted. “It’s accepted into the gallery. They admitted me as a student.”

Dan was speechless. A picture of him would be on display? Arin’s drawings of him were what got him accepted? Was that even possible?

He barely registered that Arin was still speaking. “So I was just thinking…it’s cool if you don’t want to…but…” Arin held out two tickets. “I thought we might…go to the gallery showcase this weekend, if you’d like.”

Dan’s entire brain was short-circuiting. “No, wait,” he blurted out, agitated. “I was supposed to ask _you_ out. You can’t beat me on this.”

Arin blinked, confused. “What?”

“I was planning on getting your number today,” Dan grumbled, hugging the precious sketchbook to his chest. “But you beat me to the punch.”

Arin laughed, long and loud, at Dan’s aggrieved expression, and Dan felt a grin peek out at the fond look on Arin’s face. “Alright, then, here.”

Arin handed him the tickets, and Dan understood. He cleared his throat. “Arin…whatever-your-last-name-is,” he announced dramatically, ignoring Arin’s snickers. “Will you do me the honor of attending the art show this weekend with me? I hear there’s some great up-and-coming artists there.”

Arin put a hand on his chest, playing along. “Why, Daniel, I would be honored!”

“It’s a date,” Dan declared, feeling his cheeks turn red with giddiness as Arin took back one of the tickets. He grinned goofily at Arin, who attempted to get his book back. “Oh no you don’t! I’m keeping this forever.”

“Dan, c’mon,” Arin whined, making grabby hands. “It’s embarrassing!”

“No,” Dan denied, hugging the book tighter. “It’s my new treasured possession.”

Arin put his face in his hands, bright red, and Dan’s heart melted. “Besides,” he said affectionately, “it’s already precious because you made it.”

Barry came by, sticking out his tongue at Dan. “Thank God you finally made your move,” he snarked, then looked over at Arin. “You have no idea how annoying this guy has been because he didn’t have your number.”

Arin laughed and Dan chased Barry, threatening to expose him. After a short session of good-natured bantering, Dan looked back over at Arin’s seat.

There was no ten-dollar bill sitting there, but there was a small slip of paper with a phone number and a heart doodled on the side.

Yes, working at a bar definitely had its perks.

**Author's Note:**

> Check me out at my tumblr, writergrump!


End file.
